One of the most athletic tight forwards of the modern game in South Africa, Albert van den Berg played in 51 Tests for the Springboks between 1999 and 2007, which is remarkable considering that a lot of his career overlapped with that of Victor Matfield. When afforded space to run with the ball, Van den Berg showed why he was regarded as one of the fastest of the "big men", earning him the nickname "Giraffe" amongst some sectors of the SA rugby public. After he finished his career in South Africa, Van den Berg moved to Japan where he was still playing club rugby in 2013 at the ripe age of 39.